Free-Plan 3.0



INTERGOVERNMENTAL GROUP ON TEAINTERSESSIONAL MEETING Report of the Working Group on Organic TeaBACKGROUNDThe IGG on Tea, during its 20th Session held on Jan 30 – 1 Feb 2012 in Colombo, Sri Lanka, constituted a Working Group (WG) on Organic Tea, which was put in place to study the harmonious development of the organic tea sector. Member countries of this WG are: India, China, Bangladesh, Japan and Sri Lanka.1.1 Issues to be dealt with by the Working GroupDuring the first intersessional meeting in September 2012 in Washington, DC, USA, the Working Group on Organic Tea deliberated the on the following issues:Generate market information and develop market strategies;Technical requirements;Certification processes for tea production;Collect and share information on production, package of practice, research and development; Consider organic tea as low energy input for financial gain through carbon trading; andJoin the organic movement for sustainability.During the Intergovernmental Group (IGG) on Tea, at its 21st Session Bandung, Indonesia, from 5-7 November 2014, the Working Group on Organic Tea deliberated, and the following decisions were taken on the following issues:Given the limitations observed with regard to conversion of non-organic tea plantations to organic gardens – crop reduction and high cost of cultivation owing to increase man days requirement – the WG felt that to begin with, it may be worthwhile to encourage the non-organic gardens to adopt green farming methods;Gradual reduction of chemical fertilizers and supplementing with organic manures; andReduction of pesticide load by adopting Integrated Pest Management (IPM) practices so that the usage of pesticides could be phased out gradually. It was also felt that the marketing issues could be dealt with by the Working group on Trade and Quality with the assistance from IGG-Tea Secretariat and the Task force on Statistics may monitor the organic tea demand world over.During the intersessional meeting held in Milan, Italy, on 15-16 October 2015, the following decisions were agreed:The Group agreed that the way forward was green farming methods and gradual reduction of pesticide and chemical fertilizers;Research and development was to be made to steadily improve organic production. Joint research and development and information sharing among organic tea/sustainable tea producing countries were to be coordinated by the IGG/Tea Secretariat; Market promotion internationally;Marketing issues were to be dealt with the WG on Trade and Quality, with IGG/Tea Secretariat and the Task Force on Statistics monitoring the global demand for organic tea. Proper identification of niche markets prepared to compensate the farmer for the reduced yield and higher costs of production.Positive publicity of organic tea certification in the anic tea standards and certification/sustainable tea certification should be recognized internationally.During the IGG on Tea, at its 22nd session at Naivasha, Kenya, from 25-27 May 2016, the WG on Organic Tea deliberated on the following issues: In noting the achievements of the WG on Organic Tea, the Group endorsed the report of the WG with its future work plan which included: Organic tea standards and certification to be mutually accepted by producing and importing countries; Joint research and development and information-sharing among organic tea producing countries; Market promotion, internationally;Establish national bodies in producing countries which could get international accreditation, such as NPOP (India), SLSI (Sri Lanka), CNCA (China);Support green, low input tea farming systems and gradually promote them to organic status;Social welfare of producers and communities;Conduct socio-economic impact assessments of organic farming;Promote domestic production of organic tea; andOrganic farming would also help in mitigating the effects of climate change.PRESENT STATUSReport and Update on the Work Plan from India2.1.1 Introduction India is the largest organic tea producer in the world. In India, the bulk of the organic tea produced originates from Darjeeling. It has been more than three decades when the first organic tea cultivation started in Darjeeling. Approximately 62 gardens out of 87 registered with the Tea Board practice organic tea cultivation in Darjeeling. All these gardens are also engaged in in-house activities to produce farm inputs such as composts, vermi compost and herbal brew to work as pesticide and weedicide. These gardens constitute about 60 percent of total average annual produce of approximately 8.5 million kgs of Darjeeling tea. The average yield of organic fields in Darjeeling ranges from 250 kg to 450 kg, which is 100250?kg less than conventional tea fields of Darjeeling. 2.1.2 MarketsThe small growers in Assam who are making handmade teas have found a market to suit their size. Innovative marketing and niche products, such as hand-crafted and limited editions of specialty teas, have an edge in the market. The same applies in South India, where organic teas are increasingly being marketed through direct factory labeled products. The platform of e-commerce is also being used to promote and market organic tea, and this medium is gaining popularity to reach out to prospective customers. The new concept of Zero-Budget Farming (ZBF) has gained popularity in India with some progressive small tea growers exploring it.Marketing has its own challenges – there is an imbalance in supply and demand. The big tea gardens which converted to organic tea are finding it difficult to find suitable markets for their teas. Supply is higher than demand, and hence there are no premiums on organic tea. These factors combined have made most of the organic gardens non-viable and sustainability is at stake. Exclusive organic tea farming does not guarantee marketing success, and the tea should be organic/ethical/food safety compliant.2.1.3 Research on organic and non-pesticidal tea farmingTea research in India is primarily being undertaken at the dedicated institutes of M/s. the Tea Research Association – Tocklai Experimental Station in North East India, the Darjeeling Tea Research and Development Centre (Darjeeling) and M/s. UPASI – the Tea Research Foundation. Extensive research has been undertaken in the field of IPM in order to reduce the use of pesticides to promote a greener way of cultivation of tea. A host of nonconventional strategies are being developed and promoted which are based on prevention, monitoring and control by utilizing a variety of methods and techniques, including cultural, biological and structural strategies. These offer the opportunity to eliminate or drastically reduce the use of pesticides and to minimize the toxicity of and exposure to any products which are used. Studies are also being undertaken to compare conventional, organic and biodynamic farming systems on parameters of yield, soil quality, nutritional deficiency and the incidence of pests/diseases and weeds.2.1.4 Market promotion at the international level and Government Initiatives domestically:Tea accounts for 2.5 percent of the total organic products exported from India. The Tea Board of India operates schemes to promote conversion to organic farming by way of providing assistance for the certification process of such fields. The Tea Board also encourages the setting up of organic specialty tea manufacturing units by providing them with incentives in the form of subsidies. The Tea Board of India had participated in BIOFACH 2017at Nuremberg, Germany to sustain the visibility and promotion of Indian organic tea in the organic space substantively. 2.1.5 Achievements, challenges and way aheadThe production of organic tea has witnessed a healthy rise during the last three years. Crop losses in organic gardens are in tune of average of 20-25 percent of its original potential, with some of the gardens recording losses as high as 30-40 percent. Once lost, the crop never gets recovered and the myth of going up at a later stage is not true, even after practicing organic cultivation for more than 15-20 years. The cultivation practices are very labour-intensive and the usual requirement would be 1:1.5 to 1.75 in comparison of conventional practice. With current labour shortages, this?is going to be more challenging day by day. Nutrient supplements are bulky and carry higher transportation and application costs. Nutrients are very slow in release, time taking in translocation, assimilation and reflection in yield, hence does not give desired result, even after adequate quantity applied. Botanical, microbial and other bio-pesticides’ efficacy are quite low and in times of severe infestation, they are not of much use. While these challenges are faced by big growers practicing organic tea cultivation, the small growers do not face the above problems due to their holding size. Some of the smallholders’ gardens in the North Eastern states are naturally organic. India has converted and declared one state – namely Sikkim – as Organic State, and whatever crops grown there, including tea, are organic, and an area of 74?190 hectares of agricultural land have been certified as organic. The State Governments of Nagaland and Mizoram declared their intention to go 100 percent organic in due course.Again, contrary to popular perceptions, organic products have not fetched any premiums on prices leading to a failure of these ventures. In spite of this, some of the potential tea growing states viz., Sikkim, Himachal Pradesh and some parts of Assam and Niligiris are converting to organic tea cultivation.Report and Update on the Work Plan from Sri Lanka2.2.1 IntroductionSri Lanka pioneered organic tea production in the world in 1983 and marketing in 1987. Biodynamic tea production commenced in 1996. The country continues to produce organic and biodynamic teas at 4 905.58 hectares, constituting a 2.21 percent of the tea area of the anic and biodynamic tea production is being expanded in the cooperates and smallholder sectors and organized farmer groups in different agro-ecological regions and in the majority of marginal and low yielding tea fields have been converted to organic tea. 2.2.2 Markets: International and domesticThe main destinations of the Sri Lankan organic teas are: Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Singapore, Spain, the UK and the US. Locally, there is a significant demand for organic teas, and many supermarkets, garment sales outlets (e.g. ODEL and House of Fashion), home and office deliveries and the Good Food Market in Colombo cater such demands. A special exhibition on Toxin Free Agriculture was held in Colombo, too.2.2.3 International research cooperationDuring the period under review, Sri Lanka has taken initiatives to establish long term research links with the Research Institute of Organic Agriculture (FiBL) in Switzerland to closely collaborate and exchange knowledge on: (i) TRI Organic and Conventional (TRIORCON) and Biodynamic, Organic and Conventional (BIDORCON). The world’s first comparison trial plots on tea were established at the Tea Research Institute (TRI) at Talawakele and incorporating the research experiences and comparisons of Danish Organic and Conventional (DOK) trial in Switzerland. The international research collaborations will cover all aspects of organic tea and will involve FiBl/ETH, TRI and University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka with an MOU.2.2.4 Market promotion at the international level and Government initiatives domesticallyThe Sri Lanka Export Development Board (EDB) assists prospective organic tea producers and exporters in penetrating to new international markets and in the provision of opportunities at BIOFAC exhibitions worldwide. During the period under review, the EDB released the Government gazette notification for organic exports. The Sri Lanka Standards Institution (SLSI) is in the final stage of revision of the SLSI standards on organic production. Lanka Organic Agriculture Movement (LOAM) and SRI CERT, the private bodies, are expected to assist the national body in the implementation of the national organic monitoring council. The Government declaration of a policy on toxin free agriculture, with the banning of certain agrochemicals, paved the way for growers to initiate conversion to organic and low input agriculture.2.2.5 Achievements, challenges and way aheadSince inspection, Sri Lankan organic tea growers attempted to pay respect to social welfare and benefits to the producers and communities. The smallholder group tea farming project in Baddegama, Galle supported by UNDP GEF SGP project coupled with climate change mitigation showed success stories on organic tea production and value addition with potential eco system services and community benefits. Although, factors such as labour scarcity, high cost of production, certification costs pose an impediment, there are nevertheless good market opportunities and the Government’s declaration of the afore-mentioned toxin free agriculture policy has given an enormous boost to the organic way of farming.Report and Update on the Work Plan from China2.3.1 Organic tea productionOrganic tea was steadily increasing in China. The area under organic farming systems was 178?000 ha according to the data from Ministry of Agriculture in 2015. Compared to 5 years ago the organic tea area 99?800 ha (in 2010), it was increased by 78 percent. There were total 1?950 certificates issued for organic tea production and processing by the domestic organic food certification bodies in 2016 (excluding the certificates issued by foreign certification bodies). The total production was approximately 92?500 tons in 2015. The main product is green tea, which accounts for 55 percent, followed by black tea 19 percent, dark (or brick) tea 17 percent and Oolong, white and yellow teas together 9 percent. Organic tea is mainly produced in Yunnan, Sichuan, Zhejiang, Guangxi, Hubei, Guizhou, Anhui, Jiangxi and Hunan Provinces.2.3.2 Organic tea market Organic tea produced in China is mainly consumed domestically. About 1/3 is exported to foreign countries. It is reported that there are about 30 countries imported organic tea from China. The large importing countries includes Netherland, Germany, United States, Japan, England, Canada and Denmark. Due to the certificates issued by Chinese Certification bodies and foreign certifications bodies are not recognized each other. Therefore, part of organic tea certificated by Chinese certification bodies was exported as non-organic tea.Though organic tea is mainly domestically consumed. A survey showed that 70 percent of tea consumers had never heard of organic tea, only 5 percent of consumers have drunk organic tea. But in big cities, such as Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen, the awareness of organic tea is much better. For instance, 67 percent of tea consumers knows organic tea and 15?percent of them has drunk organic tea in Beijing. 2.3.3 Research on organic teaScientific research has been conducted to compare the soil and tea quality between organic and conventional farming systems in China. The results showed that organically managed tea agro-ecosystems had statistically significant higher levels of soil pH, organic carbon (C), and total nitrogen (N) contents. Soils in organic tea gardens also had significantly higher levels of the following parameters compared to soil in conventionally managed systems: (1) soil microbial biomass C, N and phosphorus (P), (2) ratios of microbial biomass C to total organic C, (3) microbial biomass N to total N, (4) microbial biomass P to total P and, (5) net N mineralization and nitrification rates. However, the available N in organic tea soil is significantly lower compared to the conventional tea soils. Organically managed tea systems are further associated with higher levels of biodiversity, including higher levels of natural enemies for pest control.Functional quality components of tea harvested under organic and conventional management at adjacent plots within the same farms in eastern China were compared. The findings demonstrated that water extracts of organic tea had significantly higher concentrations of key catechins linked to tea quality including epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), epigallocatechin (EGC), epicatechin gallate (ECG) and epicatechin (EC) compared to the conventional tea. Concentrations of proline and γ-aminobutyric acid were also statistically higher in organic tea. However, most of free amino acids, particularly theanine, were lower in organic tea. Environmentally, findings support that organic tea gardens have greater stress levels than conventional tea gardens since the accumulation of catechins and proline in plants is associated with environmental stress. The lower concentrations of amino acids in organic tea indicated potential nitrogen deficiency and the need for managing soil nitrogen in order to increase overall amino acid levels while still managing for high levels of polyphenols. The higher concentrations of antioxidant compounds in organic tea suggest the potentially greater health benefits as these compounds are linked to disease mitigation and health promotion in human consumers. Overall, this study supports the increased product quality benefits of producing and consuming organic tea while highlighting agro-ecosystem techniques to further enhance functional quality of organic tea on the basis of amino acid profiles.2.3.4 Benefits and limitations of organic tea developmentOrganic tea farming not only improves soil quality in terms of organic matter and biological parameters, brings high tea quality in terms of high concentrations of antioxidant compounds, but upgrade the industrialization and systematization levels of tea enterprises as well. Organic tea companies have a systematic regulations, records, quality traceability and monitoring system from tea garden to tea cup. They have relative higher competitive capacity?in the market compare to the conventional tea companies. However, organic tea development has some limitations. Firstly, imbalance of organic tea production and market demand due to the low awareness and high prices of organic tea; also imbalance of organic tea product structure, some kind of teas such as Oolong, Puer and jasmine teas are in high demand, but low supply in the market. Secondly, with the increase of production cost, the profit margin of organic tea is getting low, and even no difference compare to the conventional tea. Thirdly, due to the low profit, the new investment to organic tea production have been significantly reduced in the past years. And last but not the least, the domestic and foreign certifications are not recognized each other, resulted in high cost of certification if a company wish to sell its organic tea both in domestic and foreign markets.2.3.5 Opportunities and the way aheadThis is the first time that upgrading the tea industry level by development of organic and green farming systems is mentioned in the No. 1 document of Central Government of China in 2017. The Ministry of Agriculture also issued a special document for tea in 2016. It requires to strictly stabilize the area under tea cultivation, increase yield per unit area, improve quality of tea, reducing production cost, saving resources to develop environmental friendly tea industry. Organic and green farming systems are key area to develop in tea production. This gives a good opportunities for Chinese tea industry to further promote organic tea. Ministers of Agriculture between Austria and China has signed an agreement to set up an organic tea demonstration farm in China to further improve organic tea production and farm management levels. The International cooperation will be further promoted, especially in the accreditation of different standards and certification. Currently mutual recognition of organic food between China and New Zealand has been signed.Emphasis of R&D on organic tea production, key technologies such as pest and disease control, soil quality improvement and integrated management of new technologies will be further studied and promoted.Pay attention to organic tea market, the benefit of organic tea production to the ecosystem, and health benefit of tea consumers will be further promoted to increase awareness of organic tea in the market. ................
................

In order to avoid copyright disputes, this page is only a partial summary.

Google Online Preview   Download